


Dungeon Crawler

by Viaxial



Category: Original Work
Genre: Depression, Fantasy, Heroes & Heroines, Metaphors
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-19
Updated: 2016-09-20
Packaged: 2018-08-16 02:38:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8083375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Viaxial/pseuds/Viaxial
Summary: Each year, a mysterious mark shows up on an innocent person who must face the Five Kings: demon, gods, or otherworldly beings that reign in absolute terror. They reside in the hearts and minds of each person, turning neighbors and friends into faint shadows of themselves, or driving the unsuspecting mad. The power of the Five Kings seems to last eternally, unable to be stopped or killed. And it is up to the Hero Victoria to succeed where countless others have failed.





	1. Introduction and Departure

**Author's Note:**

> When I first got the idea for this story, I was in the middle of what was the worst depressive spiral I've ever been in. Seriously, I'd never felt that hopeless and that worthless before. And in the middle of it all, I found myself desperately wishing that I could fight it off physically, like in a video game. That it'd be as simple as picking up a controller and winning. Thus, this story was born. I wish I had kept the little bit I did manage to write when I was that low, as I feel it would've conveyed my feelings much more clearly than now that I'm okay, but I couldn't let it [the story] go. So, maybe this will help some of you feel better, or maybe you'll be able to recognize where I'm coming from. Either way, hang in there as best you can.
> 
> Aesthetically, think of this story's setting and general atmosphere/tone of a From Software game like Bloodborne or Dark Souls (yeah, I know). I'm trying to evoke a similar feeling. And I will be the first to admit, I'm terrible at title names and descriptions, so sorry about that. But I hope you enjoy.

On the furthest edge of a small village nearly swallowed by a large forest, Victoria the Brave kissed her sisters good bye, knowing she'd never see them again. Their quiet sniffles were the only sounds amongst the eerily quiet members of her village that watched with hard, cold eyes. They knew what was about to happen, had seen it multiple times before and they knew how exactly how it'd end.

"Step forward Hero Victoria." The village elder beckoned, standing just beyond the edge of the trees.  Her youngest sister sobbed and hugged her tighter. Victoria's composure nearly broke at that moment, and she almost cast of her armor and cursed whatever god or monster may have been watching at that moment. She'd had a life ahead of her, a future however small it might have been. She need to stay with her family, to protect them- 

"You mustn't falter." The elder called out again, as if reading her thoughts.

With legs that felt as if they weighed a ton, Victoria tore herself from the embrace of her sisters and walked forward. She missed their warmth almost immediately and fought to keep the tears from falling down her face. She didn't want her sisters to remember her crying. The elder stretched out a gnarled hand as she approached, his blind eyes seeming to know exactly where she was.

"Once again, a Hero has been marked." The elder seized her right hand and held it high, displaying the black symbol that had cursed her a few days ago. It throbbed dully, as if it was slowly coming to life. The eyes of her village people had an almost feral look to them as they watched the ceremony in silence. "With the appearance of this mark, Victoria the Brave was born. Her old life gave birth to a new one, one filled with noble purpose and great sacrifice."

The words sounded hollow to Victoria. She stared at the ground, unable to meet the gazes of the crowd watching.

"Like Dante the Vicious and Isaac the Graceful before you, we will honor your memory now and always. Your name will be recorded in this town's history and never forgotten."

 _"But is isn't my true name."_ The words lodged in Victoria's throat. _"And this isn't a send off, it's a funeral. I'll never see this place again."_

"Go forth now, with the support of your whole community behind you. What you will see in that forest, I cannot comprehend. This will without a doubt be the most trying time of your life, and the Five Kings will not go easy on you. I cannot say how you will fare, but trust in nothing but yourself, and the faith of us all. Now, step forward and meet your fate, and may you be met with success as Gabriel the First was." The elder let go of her arm and stepped back until he was rejoined with the crowd.

Victoria stood alone now, facing the trees ahead of her. With a deep breath, she took her first step into darkness.


	2. The First King: Metus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you made it past the beginning, then you are a trooper. I honestly may just go back and re do that when I feel up to it. I was just so excited to get to the meat of my story, I may have just rushed with the backstory to get to the therapeutic (on my end) part. And like I mentioned earlier, these are all ways I have ever imagined to battle my symptoms of depression, so it only reflects my experiences you see. I'm definitely trying not to make this a one size fits all type of experience, that's for sure.
> 
> Fun fact, I accidentally made Victoria left handed, since I put the mark on her right hand and I describe her as doing everything else with her opposite hand. So lefties of the world, forgive me if there's an oversight, I'll try to catch them.
> 
> Funner fact, I haven't described Victoria or anyone else intentionally. I didn't want to put physical features on her or anything, I wanted a blank slate for others to be able to relate. The only definitive thing about her is that she goes by feminine pronouns, that's it. Reason being, what my depression feels like it that I can't focus on anyone else. I know I'm there, and I know there are other people around me I recognize, but if they aren't directly interacting with me their face slips from my mind and I become engrossed in my own thoughts. So much so I sometimes don't notice or don't even care about what's happening around me. That's what I tried to convey in this chapter, hopefully with some success. But I'l stop yammering for now. Please, continue on.

Victoria felt as if she’d never get out of this forest. The trees stretched on endlessly ahead of her, behind her, and if she looked up she couldn’t make out the top. It was only the crunching of her boots and the unfamiliar weight of the sword against her hip that convinced her she wasn’t dreaming. Everything was entirely gray it seemed, and Victoria would've killed for a little sunlight.

Her eyes fell again to the mark on her hand, which seemed to have stopped throbbing and began what felt like a hum. It was the oddest thing she’d ever seen; a circle on top of a half curved line that was broken by a diagonal line. Beneath that, a shorter line stretched down to about her wrist where another, small circle completed it.

“You ruined my life.” Her voice broke the monotony.  “You ruined my life.” She spoke louder, stopping to stare at her hand. It seemed to hum in response.

“I had a life before this. Before I was ‘the Hero Victoria.’ Now I don’t even have my own name. My own name.” Victoria’s voice grew louder as the emotions began bubbling up. She didn’t notice, however, that her arm had started to tingle.

“According to the history books, I will no longer belong to my family. How am I supposed to bear the weight of an entire village on my shoulders?” She scratched angrily at the mark, determined to wipe it off.

“All of those people counting on me, all of their hopes. I’m nothing, I’m worthless, I can’t do this.” To Victoria’s ears, her voice sounded strange. She was now desperately clawing at her right hand, drawing blood.

_Worthless. Worthless. Worthless. Worthless. Worthless. Worthless. Worthless._

Victoria’s thoughts were in a whirlwind. “This is all your fault! There are plenty of people better than me who can do this, and you chose me! You doomed us all! I can’t do anything, this is too much!” Victoria was running blindly through the forest, unfazed by the branches slapping at her face.

_Worthless. Worthless. Worthless. Worthless. Worthless. Worthless. Worthless._

“I need to get it off, I have to get this off of me! I can’t take this anymore.” Victoria screeched. Her mind felt like a caged animal, and she found it hard to draw in a complete breath. “What’s happening to me, I feel like I’m on fire oh god what’s happening.” Victoria was aware that something was seriously wrong, but everything was just too much to handle.

_Worthless worthless worthless worthless worthless worthless worthless._

Ahead in a break between the trees, she could see a stump. She lunged forward, falling to her knees before it and placing her hand on the stump. “I have to get it off it had to come off I need it off.” Nothing she said made sense anymore. She fumbled with her sword.

_Worthlessworthlessworthlessworthlessworthlessworthlessworthlessworthless-_

Raising her sword arm above her head, she took a deep breath to steady herself.

“Someone stop me, please!” Victoria cried.

_DO IT!_

With a cry, Victoria swung her sword. It lodged itself deep into the wood of the stump, missing her hand by a hairsbreadth.

“Who’s there?” Victoria stood and looked around. “Answer me, who are you and what are you doing to me!” Her words sounded clear once again. For a moment, Victoria thought that maybe she’d been mistaken in her accusation.

_My my, how perceptive you are._

It was a voice that spoke not out loud, but inside of Victoria’s head. She turned and saw a slim black figure perched on some branches overhead. It wore a wide brimmed hat with a long point that was bent at the tip. Victoria couldn’t make out the creatures eyes, but it was grinning from ear to ear.

“Who are you?” She couldn’t put much force behind her words, as her entire body still shook from her earlier panic.

_You know who I am. I am the ruler of every single mind on this planet._

The creature hopped down from its seat. It seemed to crumple slightly before straightening out, as if it were made of straw.

"You're one of the Five Kings aren't you." In every scenario Victoria had thought up for how she was going to die, she never once imagined she'd feel completely and utterly paralyzed with fear. She could only watch, glued to the spot, while the creature stood up to it's full height. It must've been at least eight or nine feet tall, and it's clothes hung in tatters.

_It's not important who I am. It's not important who you are either._

The creature never stopped grinning. From inside the fold of it's sleeve, it began to pull out a long, black staff.

_You weren't sent in this forest to die by the people who were suppose to care about you. They abandoned you here._

"Stop it, that's not true." Victoria could feel tears welling up again. She wished desperately for her body to move, but her limbs were frozen.

_Do you really believe you were chosen? For this? You were sent out here to die, plain and simple._

"I don't want to hear this, stop it." The King's staff began to grow a large, curved blade on one end. Victoria gripped her sword tighter and shakily brandished it in front of her.

_Why only send one person then? Why have you people only ever sent in one? Why not everyone at once, or a whole army? Why not call for help?_

"The mountains...we're surrounded. There's no one else." The words came out in a whisper. The tip of Victoria's sword began to lower, and the tears flowed freely now. He was right, it didn't make any sense. She'd been left to die alone and terrified far from home. Through her watery vision, Victoria could see the King draw his arms back and over his head. Though no light was visible, the blade seemed to gleam.

_You never meant anything to them. That's why they chose you, the easiest person to miss. No one ever cared about you. Not even your sisters._

At the mention of her sisters, it was as if Victoria had been cut loose. She dove forward just as the King swung it's scythe in a long arc. Behind her, she could hear trees crashing to the ground.

_You never meant anything to them!_

The King swung his scythe in a wide arc. Victoria just barely avoided the attack and got to her feet. In the back of her mind, Victoria remembered a picnic she'd gone on with her family not this past spring. That particular day, the sun had almost come out, and she could very clearly remember the sound of her older sister's laughter.

_You were never good enough for them!_

Victoria rolled and dived desperately for her life. Every time she heard the faint whistling of the scythe through the air, she though it'd be the last ting she'd ever hear. Another memory popped up, this one when she was much younger and had valiantly attempted a cake for her younger sister's second birthday. It had been a mess, but the three of them loved it.

_They never truly loved you. No one did, not even the so called friends you had back at that pathetic village._

The King had become relentless. It's swings came faster and faster, one right after another and Victoria couldn't avoid them all. Her body ached from constantly being thrown to the ground and rolling amongst the rocks, and in certain places the King had managed to cut through her armor. Throughout it all, the King's maniacal grin got wider. Another memory, of the three of them finally patching all the holes in the roof of their home.

_You will die here, and you will be forgotten._

 

"They love me!" Victoria shouted. "My sisters love me dearly, and I know this. I may not feel it, but I know it's true." She straightened her spine, trembling with fear but renewed in purpose. "They love me so much, and they care about me. That's all that matters to me, knowing that the people I care about, care about me too." The King haltered in it's strike for a split second.

Going on pure instinct, Victoria scrambled forward and jabbed her sword blindly in the King's general direction. It must've done something, for inside her head she could hear it roar, a bellow that convinced her that her head was going to explode. She watched wide eyed as the creature seemed to claw at itself, shrinking and disappearing into the shadows.

Victoria looked around, dazed. Trees had been rent in half all around her, with jagged pieces of wood littering the forest floor. The King did not reappear.

A second passed, then another, and Victoria suddenly burst into sobs. Clutching herself, she laid down and curled into a ball as all the emotions she'd been unable to process came rushing in at once. The tightness in her chest returned, and she had to start rhythmically taking deep breaths to prevent true hysterics. In front of her was a large hunk of tree that had many tiny rings that she began to count as a welcome distraction. Soon enough her sobs turned into silent tears, and she lay there for what felt like hours.

"I have to keep going." She said out loud. "I have to keep going." Victoria slowly got to her feet, and wiped her face. "One down." She whispered. After rooting around for her sword, she sheathed it and hugged herself tightly, taking a step deeper into the forest. There was only one question on her mind.

_Do they?_

"I know they do."


End file.
